D E P A R T M E N T S S P O T L I G H T - The Taft School

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Frank Thompson ’35 Establishes Tennis CenterJim Driscoll ’96Takes Major GolfTournamentUVA coach Mike Moraghan is callingJim Driscoll “one of the finestcollegiate golfers in the country.” Nosurprise when Jim, a sophomore, “putup some numbers in Las Vegas thatwere quite impressive, even in a townthat is not easily overwhelmed.” InMarch, he won the prestigious GolfDigest Collegiate Tournament, finishing9 under to win by one shot.His final round of 64 put him 7 underpar on a day when only three ofthe 73 players broke 70.“It was the strongest play of anytournament until the NCAAs,” saidMoraghan, “and it’s probably the beststroke-play tournament for him since hewon the New England Amateur in1995.” The Las Vegas tournament putJim on a national stage. Moraghan calledthis UVA’s biggest win in nine years.Frank Thompson is proud that St. Louis has produced so many tennis championsand has spearheaded the construction of the Thompson Tennis Center (in memoryof his father) and St. Louis Tennis Hall of Fame to spread the word.So far 28 St. Louis players have been named to the Hall of Fame, includingJimmy Connors and the late Arthur Ashe. Frank has enlarged and framed a numberof photographs from his own collection, which looks at fashion and personalities ofthe sport back to 1885, for the center.Frank earned a few trophies himself, including six national senior doubles championshipsand only gave up playing at 78 after bypass surgery. He won his firstnational championship in 1960 and continues to supervise training for about 100players each summer in the Youth Foundation Tennis Center, which he founded in1966. He is also a director of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, RI.Source: Marianna Riley, St. Louis Post-DispatchPhoto: Wayne Crosslin, Post-DispatchSources: Ron Balicki, Golfweek; JimMcCabe, Boston GlobePhoto: Boston Globe Staff PhotoJake Fay ’96 NESCAC Offensive Player of the YearA sophomore at Wesleyan University, JakeFay received the school’s Bacon Award asthe team’s most valuable player as well asthe New England Small College AthleticConference [NESCAC] Offensive Playerof the Year award. Jake was the startingquarterback in seven out of eight contests,missing one start due to an ankle injury.Connecting on 113 of 211 attempts(53.6 percent) for an individual seasonalteam-record 1,906 yards, he tossed 14 touchdownpasses while being intercepted just fourtimes. He was named NESCAC offensiveplayer of the week three times during theyear and was chosen for the Eastern CollegeAthletic Conference [ECAC] New EnglandDivision II weekly honor roll once.With his 147.5 passing efficiency ratio,Jake finished 17th in the country amongNCAA Division II players and first amongNew England quarterbacks. His rating wasthe 11th highest ever recorded by a NewEngland Division III player. His 1,799 yardsof total offense also represented a Wesleyanteam record. The Cardinals posted a 7-1record for the season, the squad’s strongestshowing since going 8-0 in 1969.30 Summer 1998
ALUMNI IN THE NEWSDefiningSuccess withDisabilitiesA very trusting A.J. Mleczko ’93 does a little show-and-tell with her gold medal.Getting a Good Look at the GoldTaft students got a good look at an Olympic gold medal when A.J. Mleczko ’93[Spring 1998 issue] came to Taft this spring. After her victory in Japan with theUS women’s ice hockey team, A.J., like her fellow teammates, took time tospeak around the country about their unforgettable experience.While at Taft, she gave a morning meeting talk, and spoke with studentsafterward about hockey, the Olympics, (whether or not she really sleeps withthe medal), and what her plans might be for the future. She told how it was atTaft that she first learned women’s ice hockey would be an Olympic sport in1998 and began to think about that as her goal.She downplayed her own sacrifices to make it to the Olympics, highlightinginstead what other members of her team gave up and how much those risksand the intense preparation paid off. “What is so inspiring,” said her formercoach Patsy Odden, “is that AJ is not necessarily the most gifted hockey playerto come through this school. She took the talent she had and with incrediblecommitment and drive, became a world-class player.” A.J. is continuing herstudies at Harvard this fall.John Dunham ’59 Reaches 300thWin at TrinityTrinity College’s Head Men’s Ice Hockey Coach John Dunham won his300th career game this past winter. The championship game victory overAmherst College in the Ben McCabe tournament brought his career recordat Trinity to 300-214-18. Under his direction, the Bantams have had twelveplay-off appearances and four ECAC North/South Championships. Themen’s ice hockey team finished 11-11-2 and lost in the first round of theECAC East Tournament, 3-1 at UCONN.Henry Reiff ’71 and two colleaguesrecently publishedExceeding Expectations:Successful Adults withLearning Disabilities. Towrite the book they interviewed71 people whoDr. HenryReiff ’71,co-author ofExceedingExpectations.overcame learning disabilities to excel intheir careers of choice. Among the subjectsthere are a paleontologist, abiomedical engineer, a corporate executive,a psychologist, and more than oneprofessor. Twenty-nine hold doctorates.In the process of their interviewsHenry and his co-authors learned thatperseverance was the key to success formany, but that adaptability and “learnedcreativity” allowed them to perform wellwhen they had difficulty with the usualmethods. “They learned to develop varioussystems,” he writes, “that played uptheir strengths.... They learned that therewere many ways to solve most problems,and that their idiosyncratic method wasequal to anyone else’s approach. They didnot just cope—they creatively excelled!”While the book is thorough enoughfor people in the field, it is also accessibleto the average reader. The interviewsthemselves and anecdotal informationthroughout are interesting and often poignant,particularly when intervieweestalk about growing up with learning disabilitiesand the challenges they faced.Henry is associate dean of academicaffairs and professor of special educationat Western Maryland College. He is alsothe author, with Paul Gerber, of Speakingfor Themselves: EthnographicInterviews with Adults with Learning Disabilities(1991); and Learning Disabilitiesin Adulthood: Persisting Problems andEvolving Issues (1994).Taft Bulletin 31
Page 7: S P O T L I G H T“[Fry] was an Am
Page 10 and 11: S P O T L I G H T Combined choirsat
Page 12 and 13: S P O T L I G H T On the bus to the
Page 14 and 15: S P O T L I G H TALUMNI WEEKEND50th
Page 16 and 17: S P O T L I G H TALUMNI WEEKEND Loi
Page 18 and 19: S P O T L I G H TALUMNI WEEKEND Lan
Page 20 and 21: S P O T L I G H TCommencementBy Sus
Page 22 and 23: S P O T L I G H TChloe, Renee ’92
Page 24 and 25: S P O T L I G H TSusie, Julia ’01
Page 26 and 27: S P O T L I G H T1997-98Taft Annual
Page 28 and 29: ALUMNI IN THE NEWSAlumniIN THE NEWS
Page 32 and 33: ALUMNI IN THE NEWSFlorida DinnerDur
Page 34 and 35: AROUND THE PONDNew Faculty Chairs E
Page 36 and 37: AROUND THE PONDFirst ClimbingCompet
Page 38 and 39: AROUND THE PONDMalcolm Lee Speaks a
Page 40 and 41: S P O R TsportBoys’ TennisThe boy
Page 42 and 43: Girls’ CrewIt was a strong season
Page 45: E N D N O T EIIIIt is hard to get t

D E P A R T M E N T S S P O T L I G H T - The Taft School

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?